SHARE ON: |
| |
| |
 |
 |
|
|
A Texas nurse was convicted Tuesday of capital murder in the deaths of four patients who died after prosecutors say he injected them with air following heart surgeries.
The Smith County jury deliberated for about an hour before finding William George Davis, of Hallsville, guilty of capital murder involving multiple victims. Prosecutors planned to seek the death penalty during the sentencing phase, which was scheduled to start Wednesday.
Davis, 37, was accused of injecting air into the four patients arteries after they underwent heart surgery at the Christus Trinity Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler in 2017 and 2018. During recovery from their surgeries, the four -- John Lafferty, Ronald Clark, Christopher Greenway and Joseph Kalina -- suffered unexplained neurological problems and died.
During the trial, Dr. William Yarbrough, a Dallas-area pulmonologist and professor of internal medicine, explained to the jury how injecting air into the arterial system of the brain causes brain injury and death.
Yarbrough said he was able to determine there was air in the arterial system of the victims brains by viewing images from brain scans -- something he said he had never before observed in his decades in medicine.
He ruled out blood pressure problems or any other causes of death besides the injection of air, and said it must have happened after the surgeries because the complications occurred while the patients were in recovery.
Defense attorney Phillip Hayes told the jury that the hospital had issues and that Davis was a scapegoat who was only charged because he was there when the deaths occurred.
Prosecutor Chris Gatewood said during closing arguments that Davis liked to kill people. And prosecutor Jacob Putman said the hospital hadnt changed any of its procedures and hadnt had any similar incidents since Davis left.
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
8 pm |
| 28 ℃ |
| SCATTERED CLOUDS |
WIND: SE 33 KM/H
GUSTING TO 65 KM/H |
|
|
 |
9 pm |
| 28 ℃ |
| SCATTERED CLOUDS |
WIND: E 17 KM/H
GUSTING TO 39 KM/H |
|
|
 |
10 pm |
| 27 ℃ |
| SCATTERED CLOUDS |
WIND: E 28 KM/H
GUSTING TO 45 KM/H |
|
|
 |
11 pm |
| 26 ℃ |
| SCATTERED CLOUDS |
WIND: SE 17 KM/H
GUSTING TO 35 KM/H |
|
 |
 |
12 am |
| 24 ℃ |
| SCATTERED CLOUDS |
WIND: SE 17 KM/H
GUSTING TO 35 KM/H |
|
|
 |
1 am |
| 23 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
WIND: SE 19 KM/H
GUSTING TO 37 KM/H |
|
|
 |
2 am |
| 20 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
WIND: SE 14 KM/H
GUSTING TO 27 KM/H |
|
|
 |
3 am |
| 20 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
WIND: SSE 11 KM/H
GUSTING TO 12 KM/H |
|
 |
 |
 |
TODAY |
HIGH OF 34 ℃
LOW OF 20 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
|
|
 |
SUNDAY |
HIGH OF 36 ℃
LOW OF 20 ℃ |
| BROKEN CLOUDS |
|
|
 |
MONDAY |
HIGH OF 30 ℃
LOW OF 19 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
|
|
 |
TUESDAY |
HIGH OF 26 ℃
LOW OF 18 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
|
 |
 |
WEDNESDAY |
HIGH OF 25 ℃
LOW OF 16 ℃ |
| LIGHT RAIN |
|
|
 |
THURSDAY |
HIGH OF 28 ℃
LOW OF 17 ℃ |
| SCATTERED CLOUDS |
|
|
 |
FRIDAY |
HIGH OF 32 ℃
LOW OF 17 ℃ |
| FEW CLOUDS |
|
|
 |
SATURDAY |
HIGH OF 37 ℃
LOW OF 21 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
COLE SWINDELL BEER IN THE HEADLIGHTS 08:43 PM |
 |
 |
LUKE BRYAN WORD ON THE STREET 08:40 PM |
 |
 |
JORDAN DAVIS LOUISIANA STICK 08:37 PM |
 |
 |
BRANDON DAVIS FAKE IT TIL I MAKE IT 08:34 PM |
 |
 |
SCOTTY MCCREERY DAMN STRAIT 08:30 PM |
 |
 |
THOMAS RHETT SMALL TOWN GIRLS 08:28 PM |
 |
 |
KIP MOORE PRETTY HORSES 08:24 PM |
 |
 |
CHRIS JANSON HARDEST HUNTIN SEASON 08:21 PM |
 |
 |
COLE SWINDELL LEFT TO GET RIGHT 08:18 PM |
 |
 |
KIP MOORE MR SIMPLE 08:12 PM |
 |
 |